Abstract
It is difficult for many of us to comprehend that we have been flying in space for over 50 years, and except for a one-year gap between the Russian Mir Station and the International Space Stations (ISS), most of the past 28 years have seen a continual human presence in low Earth orbit. Aside from the risks associated with leaving the planet and the remoteness of spacecraft, human health and performance in space is dominated by the condition of weightlessness. The removal of the gravity-driven hydrostatic gradient along with predictable anthropomorphic changes drives a set of global adaptive responses in nearly every physiologic system. Over these years we have developed an incomplete but serviceable knowledge of these adaptive responses. 1 Barratt M. Space physiology and medicine. in: Gradwell D. Rainford D. Ernsting's Aviation and Space Medicine. 5th ed. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, 2016 Google Scholar Renal and urinary function have played a significant role in both the understanding and experience of human spaceflight. The piece by Leapman and colleagues in this issue introduces the fundamental urological issues associated with this novel environment. In my 212 days spent off the planet on the ISS, the US Space Shuttle, and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, I have had the delightful and sometimes dubious opportunity to experience many of these first hand. The astronaut population is acutely aware of urologic issues, and these are debriefed and handed over to new flyers with great attention.
Published Version
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